Washington AI Network Hosts DHS Under Secretary for Policy Rob Silvers

The Washington AI Network hosted a cocktails and conversation event on August 1 featuring special guest Rob Silvers, the under secretary for policy at the Deparment of Homeland Security. 

Washington AI Network founder Tammy Haddad conducted a wide ranging interview with Silvers, which was recorded as an episode of the Washington AI Network podcast. The under secretary addressed how conflicts in the Middle East impact domestic security efforts, the power and fragility of the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure, China’s standing in the global AI race, and how DHS deploys AI, including at the border to stop fentanyl.  

Silvers, who also serves as chair of the Cyber Safety Review Board, praised Microsoft’s response to the recent Crowdstrike outage, calling it “fantastic,” yet said the entire incident was “a very stark reminder of both the power of our internet infrastructure and technology and how much it does for us.”

On increased domestic threats due to the conflict in the Middle East, Silvers said: “We are very conscious that we’re in a heightened threat environment …  and we are pouring unprecedented levels of resources into our communities, into ensuring that the American people are safe.”

On competition with China, Silvers said: “When it comes to AI … I’m happy to say that at this moment, I think the United States is ahead of China. But it’s not a foregone conclusion that we always will be.”

On combating the Chinese government’s human rights abuses of the Uyghurs, Silvers said DHS “is on the front lines of making sure that products made with forced labor by Uyghurs in Xinjiang province are not allowed to come into this country so that China cannot profit from that.”

“Our enforcement has been so strong that we are seeing supply chains start to shift,” he continued. “We are seeing companies, big U.S. retailers and importers start to do really deep diligence into who they are buying from and … it is changing trade for the benefit of human rights.”

And on the use of AI at the border, Silvers said:  “We are using machine learning models now that can analyze factors, including a vehicle’s travel history to look for anomalies, to look for things that seem suspicious.” Silvers said the new tools recently led border patrol officers to stop a vehicle containing 75 kilos of narcotics.